Unequal impact of Covid should be part of UK inquiry, says chair – The Guardian

‘The chair of the UK Covid-19 public inquiry has urged the prime minister to significantly widen its scope to better examine the pandemic’s unequal impact on minority ethnic people, on children and on mental health.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 12th May 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Barrister stresses importance of PACE and good practice after successfully defending pub landlord charged with Covid -19 rules breach – Local Government Lawyer

‘A barrister who successfully defended a pub landlord accused of failing to close his pub during tier 4 lockdown in February 2021 has claimed the case should serve “as a reminder that even in extraordinary circumstances, the rules of PACE and good practice ought not to be forgotten”.’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 10th May 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Challenge to Government policy of discharging hospital patients to care homes at start of pandemic partly upheld – UK Human Rights Blog

‘The High Court (Bean LJ and Garnham J) held in R (Gardner) v Secretary of State for Health [2022] EWHC 967 (Admin) that the Government’s March 2020 Discharge Policy and the April 2020 Admissions Guidance were unlawful to the extent that the policy set out in each document was irrational in failing to advise that where an asymptomatic patient (other than one who had tested negative) was admitted to a care home, he or she should, so far as practicable, be kept apart from other residents for 14 days.’

Full Story

UK Human Rights Blog, 3rd May 2022

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Government will not challenge court ruling on care home discharge policies – The Independent

‘The Government has said it will not be appealing against a High Court ruling which stated its care home discharge policies were unlawful.’

Full Story

The Independent, 4th May 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Man found guilty of threatening ‘traitor’ Labour MP with noose – The Guardian

‘A man has been found guilty of threatening a Labour MP after he held a makeshift gallows with a noose outside parliament and said: “This is what we do to traitors.”’

Full Story

The Guardian, 3rd May 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Covid breach court case criticised by Bedford gym owner – BBC News

Posted May 3rd, 2022 in coronavirus, local government, news, penalties, prosecutions, regulations by sally

‘A gym boss who is among 20 people who overturned a prosecution for a gym-related Covid breach said the case against him was a waste of time.’

Full Story

BBC News, 3rd May 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘Thrown to the wolves’: Covid care home ruling is bitter victory for relatives – The Guardian

Posted April 28th, 2022 in care homes, coronavirus, elderly, hospitals, news by sally

‘This time of year brings bad memories for families of care home residents who died in Covid’s first wave when the virus swept, mostly unchecked, through nursing homes.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 27th April 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Mike Gordon: The Prime Minister, the Parties, and the Ministerial Code – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘The current Prime Minister’s long running battle with the Seven Principles of Public Life continues to gather pace. Boris Johnson’s actions relating to the pandemic “partygate” scandal have arguably violated each of the principles established by the Nolan Committee in 1995: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership. The Prime Minister’s full house of ethical violations concerning his attendance and subsequent denials of social gatherings held in Downing Street, contrary to lockdown restrictions, have also yielded Fixed Penalty Notices from the police for him, his Chancellor, his wife, and other government officials, with the prospect of more to follow. Yet the Prime Minister remains committed to staying in post, and has refused to resign.’

Full Story

UK Constitutional Law Association, 27th April 2022

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Legal challenge sees decision to close hospital over staffing issues quashed – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 26th, 2022 in consultations, coronavirus, hospitals, judicial review, news, statutory duty by sally

‘An NHS Trust has conceded, following a judicial review challenge, that its decision to close a hospital over staffing issues partly attributed to pandemic pressures was unlawful.’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 25th April 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Sexual offence victims face longest-ever court waits – BBC News

‘Recent cases involving serious sexual offences have taken the longest time on record to go through Crown Courts in England and Wales, the BBC has found.’

Full Story

BBC News, 25th April 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Number of prisoners stuck in solitary confinement a real worry, prisons watchdog warns – The Independent

Posted April 21st, 2022 in coronavirus, mental health, news, prisons by sally

‘The prisons watchdog has warned of the “long-term price” of restricting offenders’ time out of cells, as reports show many are living in conditions equal to solitary confinement.’

Full Story

The Independent, 20th April 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Going backwards: statutory sick pay after the pandemic – by Dr Lisa Rodgers – UK Labour Law

‘The coronavirus pandemic has seen unprecedented interference by governments in many aspects of our working lives. In terms of labour law, some of the changes made by the UK government during the pandemic have been deregulatory and served to erode protection for workers (for example, through increasing flexibility in working time for key workers: Working Time (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020. For the most part though, these changes have increased worker protection and provided significant support for UK businesses and employees. The two furlough schemes, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and the accompanying Self-Employment Income Support Scheme have been widely judged as pandemic success stories, with the CJRS supporting 11.6 million people and playing a clear role in limiting job losses. Likewise, changes to the sick pay system during the pandemic have been positive, serving to increase access to the scheme and reduce the administrative burden on both employees and their employers.’

Full Story

UK Labour Law, 12th April 2022

Source: uklabourlawblog.com

‘Insufficient evidence’ to prosecute two people suspected of leaking CCTV of Matt Hancock kiss – The Independent

‘No-one will be prosecuted over the leaking of CCTV footage that showed former health secretary Matt Hancock kissing his aide while coronavirus social distancing guidelines were in place.’

Full Story

The Independent, 13th April 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

NEWS ‘Defendants in the bath’: magistrates reveal remote-hearing concerns – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Three-quarters of magistrates do not want remote links to be used as extensively as they were during the pandemic, according to landmark research on their experiences in the criminal courts. After canvassing the views of 865 magistrates, a report published by the Magistrates Association, assisted by legal charity Transform Justice, concludes that audio and video links negatively impact communication and effective participation, particularly for vulnerable court users.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 12th April 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

High court denies Met permission to challenge ruling on Sarah Everard vigil – The Guardian

‘The Metropolitan police has been refused permission for a “hopeless” appeal against a high court ruling that found the force breached the rights of organisers of a vigil for Sarah Everard in south London last year.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 11th April 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Publicly-funded criminal barrister numbers drop by 11% – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted April 11th, 2022 in barristers, budgets, coronavirus, criminal justice, legal aid, news, statistics by tracey

‘The number of barristers practising full-time in publicly-funded criminal law dropped by 11% last year, according to analysis by the Bar Council. In 2021, only 2,400 barristers reported that their practice was entirely publicly-funded criminal work, down from from 2,670 the previous year.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 8th April 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Article by Jonathan Lewis – Non-party disclosure orders in judicial review proceedings (R (AB) v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care) – Henderson Chambers

‘Two children sought permission to judicially review various decisions made by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care relating to provision of coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines to children. To pursue their claim, they sought disclosure of various statistics from the Office for National Statistics (the ONS). As the ONS was not a party to proceedings, they made an application under CPR 31.17 for disclosure. Mr Justice Swift dismissed that application on the basis that the information sought was not necessary for the fair determination of the questions of law raised by the pleaded case.’

Full Story

Henderson Chambers, 31st March 2022

Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk

New Acts – legislation.gov.uk

Posted April 5th, 2022 in coronavirus, legislation, national insurance, parliament, rent by tracey

2022 c. 12 – Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Act 2022

2022 c. 11 – Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022

2022 c. 16 – National Insurance Contributions (Increase of Thresholds) Act 2022

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk

GPs attack “bullying” solicitors over Covid exemption letters – Legal Futures

Posted March 29th, 2022 in coronavirus, doctors, news, solicitors, vaccination by sally

‘The British Medical Association (BMA) has accused solicitors of bullying GPs by threatening legal action if the doctor does not provide a Covid vaccination exemption for their client.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 29th March 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Dismissal was part of firm’s fair redundancy process, judge rules – Law Society’s Gazette

‘A former law firm employee was dismissed because of redundancy measures made necessary during lockdown, an employment tribunal has found.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 25th March 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk